Web Exclusive

Infographic: The ‘Disastrous’ State of Latin America’s Prisons

Flames and plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the Juiz Plácido de Souza penitentiary in Pernambuco, Brazil on Saturday after a violent inmate rebellion left six dead and at least 11 injured. Local news outlets reported several possible causes for the incident, but severe overcrowding was almost certainly a factor: the prison, built … Read more

Web Exclusive

Speaking Guaraní, Don Quixote Rides into Paraguay

Don Quixote is riding into Paraguay, but he’s not just tilting at windmills. The idealistic knight from La Mancha has a new quest: to defend the indigenous Guaraní language. The first-ever Guaraní translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote was completed in June by a team of four Paraguayan scholars who labored eight years … Read more

Web Exclusive

What Brazil Can Learn From the Terrorist Threat to the Rio Olympics

Brazil may be the world’s seventh-largest economy and highly visible on a global scale, but it is, in many ways, remarkably isolated from the rest of the world and from global threats like terrorism.  At least most thought it was.  The arrests in recent days of 12 Brazilians suspected of plotting to carry out attacks during the … Read more

Web Exclusive

Ayude a los boomers a retirarse en América Latina

Leer en inglés Estimado(a) Sr(a) Presidente(a): Los baby boomers de Estados Unidos a menudo parecen representar las importaciones de mayor crecimiento en México. En la región del Lago de Chapala, en donde vivo, una cifra estimada de más de 10,000 estadounidenses –o el doble de ese número dependiendo de la época del año– llaman “su … Read more

Web Exclusive

Why Lying Is Often Easier in Argentina

At a dinner party in Washington seven years ago, a well-known Argentine diplomat was doing what diplomats do – defending his government over rubber chicken and white wine. But this night was quite unusual, because the diplomat was openly and unapologetically defending a lie. Back then, the lie was still fairly new, and the world … Read more

Web Exclusive

Trabaje con México en la Cuarta Revolución Industrial

Read in English Estimado(a) Sr(a) Presidente(a): El comercio y las relaciones entre México y Estados Unidos se han destacado como el objetivo de la campaña electoral de este año pero la retórica pasa por alto una realidad inequívoca. Como la siguiente persona que ocupe la silla presidencial de Estados Unidos, usted presidirá el inicio de … Read more

Web Exclusive

A Shaken Dominican LGBT Movement Finds Strength After Orlando

The Dominican Republic’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community was shaken after the nightclub shooting in Orlando a month ago. At least four victims were from that small country, and the attack underscored the discrimination many LGBT activists feel in their own, largely conservative society. In a particularly ill-timed display of opposition to LGBT … Read more

Web Exclusive

This Week in Latin America: Brazil’s New Speaker

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Brazil’s New Speaker: Brazil’s lower house will elect a new speaker on Wednesday, following the tearful resignation of Eduardo Cunha on July 7 amid an ethics investigation. Accused of taking up to $40 million in bribes and lying about an offshore bank account linked to the vast … Read more

Web Exclusive

A Closer Look at the Latin American Women that Could Lead the UN

Christiana Figueres doesn’t drink coffee. The Costa Rican told AQ that despite hailing from a major exporter of the world’s favorite bean, she bounces around perfectly well without it. After witnessing her formidable leadership as head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat for the past six years, it is hard to disagree. On July 5, … Read more

Web Exclusive

Why the World’s Top Mathematicians Are Coming to Rio

Rio de Janeiro is preparing to host a major international contest of skill, talent and mind-boggling human feats – and it’s not the Olympics. The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), an annual competition for pre-collegiate math whizzes, is coming to Brazil for the first time next year. And as with the Games, officials are hoping that … Read more

Web Exclusive

Podcast: The Threats to Brazil’s “Car Wash” Corruption Probe

Also available for download for Apple iOS and Android. There are several threats facing the probe into corruption at Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras, according to José Ugaz, global chairman of Transparency International. Ugaz, who is based in Peru but visited Brazil last week, said some Brazilian politicians are trying to obstruct the investigation – although they likely … Read more

Web Exclusive

This Week in Latin America: Venezuela’s Political Prisoners

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Appeal for López: Venezuela’s imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo López will appear in court Thursday to appeal a nearly 14-year sentence handed down last September for charges of incitement to violence and criminal association. The delayed hearing comes as Venezuela has expressed its willingness to restore diplomatic relations with the U.S., which … Read more

Web Exclusive

Podcast: Brazil’s Economy Under Temer

Also available for download for Apple iOS and Android. Interim President Michel Temer’s economic team has the unique challenge of attempting to fix Brazil’s worst economic crisis in decades – while also trying to ensure they survive a critical vote in August. Much needed reforms are unlikely to be passed until the conclusion of Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment trial, … Read more

Web Exclusive

Congress Offers Broken PROMESA to Puerto Rico

The U.S. Senate this week voted to pass the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA (“promise” in Spanish), without amendments. Cast as “Puerto Rico’s last chance” before a July 1 default, the bill is a classic congressional compromise in which neither Democrats nor Republicans are completely satisfied. The bill offers Puerto Rico the … Read more

Web Exclusive

Another Dent in Enrique Peña Nieto’s Reform Agenda

Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto seems to always pack a media relations strategy when traveling abroad, and this week’s trip to Canada has been no exception. Ahead of today’s North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa, Peña Nieto and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared policy concessions over social media, were spotted getting chummy at public … Read more